Att Edinburgh The first day of August Jaj vic Nyntie Nyne years
D1699/8/4
D1699/8/41
Decreet
Decreet Suspending the Letters Alexander Leith Against Patrick Gordon and others
Anent the petition given in to the Lords of his Majesties privy Councill be Alexander Leith of Belcherie Shewing That the matter the petitioner was to lay before the saids Lords was so extraordinary and that the petitioner hade been therin, so attrociously injured That the petitioner must intreat the saids Lords to hear the full and true account of this whole Bussines, In the moneth of September Last Ther was a depredation Committed upon the petitioner and after much payments and expenses The petitioner at Lenth disrcovered that the depredation was Committed by Angus Mcdonald Comonly called the Hacketsteer and his adherants, and that Patrick Gordon in Glenbucket was the resetter and out hounder, Wherupon haveing accquainted Some of the Commissioners of Justiciary The petitioner obtained warrand under seven of their hands for seazeing of the persone of the said Patrick Gordone and Imprisoning him within the Tolbooth of Aberdeen and for keeping of him ther in Irons he being pessima fame and that prisone non of the Surest The Nighbours of this Patrick Gordon greatly allarmed with his Imprisonment Least if brought to tryall he might make discoveries use all their indeavor to gett him sett2 at Libertie upon Cautione And for that end upon the Twenty fifth of Aprile Last, petition the Commissioners of Justiciary mett at Inch that he might have his Liberty upon Caution, Bot the petitioner haveing made answers, the Commissioners Ordained him to remaine in prisone But freed him from the Irons upon Cautione, that he should not escape, And that at the same time they enact the petitioner to insist against him nixt Court day being the Twentie fifth of May Last by a Capitall indytment upon six dayes, with a list of assyssors and witnesses all which the petitioner performed, Bot Patricks Freinds fore seeing the hazard, Move the Commissioners at the day of Compearance to take nottice of the petitioners haveing by and attour the forsaid Judiciall warrand produced Likewayes ane extrajudiciall Warrand by two of the Commissioners Which warrand the pannells procurators quarrelled as a thing extraordinary, and Craved that the petitioner might abide be the said executione and warrand so produced by the petitioner They the said Commissioners upon the petitioners adhereing to the Judiciall act in presentia as sufficient warrand for giveing the Indytment and Simply passing from the extrajudiciall warrand as being needless and Superfluous became So inraged (from what Cause and mottive the petitioner shall not affirme) that they not only deserve the dyet against the pannell; and sett him at Liberty without Caution, Bot Decerned the petitioner to pay a hundred pound Scots to their Fiscall for their behoove, and farder to pay to the said Patrick Gordon Eightein hundred merks for his damnadges and fyve hundred for his Imprisonment, And Ordained the petitioner to be Immediatly Imprisoned in the Tolbooth of Elgine untill he payed the said fyve hundred merks and gave bond for the remainder payable at Lambas thereafter Like as the saids Commissioners were so violent in this matter that when the petitioner took instruments upon their Illegall and Arbitrary procedure they threatned the petitioner and his procurators and forced the Clerk to give back the instrument money so that the petitioner was necessitate to make use of another nottar whose Instruments upon the premisses were therwith produced, upon all these wrongs sustained from the vindicators of the publict Justice, and who pretend to be the necessary defenders of the Country from depredationes and spulzies, the petitioner meaned himself to the saids Lords by a bill of Suspensione, and by a petition for the petitioners Liberty in the mean time Both which the saids Lords did readily grant, and ever since the petitioner hath been attending the saids Lords dyet to see if the Charger would insist for the dismissing of the petitioners forsaid Suspension, Bot they knowing the gross injustice of their forsaid sentance and that it could never abide the saids Lords examinatione do move no more in that affair Bot Seing it was nowayes reasonable that the petitioner Should lye under the said Sentance and have no repairation for so great injuries, Therfore the petitioner does in the first place humbly beseech the saids Lords That Seing the said Chargers refuse to insist Their decreet and Charges theron might be Suspended Simpliciter, It was true that in the Ordinary forme before the Lords of Sessione wher the Charger doeth not insist, The Letters are only in use to be Suspended ay and while he does insist unless ther be a reductione in the feild, Bot Seing that reductions of this kind are not in use before the saids Lords and that the Chargers doe not insist, The petitioner must intreat the saids Lords to ordaine the Letters to be suspended Simpliciter And Farder Because the hardships the petitioner hade Suffered are griveous and intollerable the petitioner must farder represent to the Saids Lords first that the petitioner acted Nothing in this matter, Bot by express Warrand from the Commissioners themselves For first they gave warrand for seazing of the said Patrick, and nixt they gave warrand for keeping of him in Irons, and then they again free him from the Irons bot continue him in prisone, and Cause the petitioner enact himself to prosecute him at a certaine day all which the petitioner did in good forme so that for them not only to have exempted a nottorious theif and resetter from Justice when the petitioner hade his Lybell and prooffs ready But to have turned their violence against the petitioner in maner above represented was a thing unheard off It was true they alleadged the petitioner could have hade a speciall warrand at Least from two of the Commissioners for giveing Patrick ane indytment, Bot when the petitioner hade a speciall express warrand from seven what need of another speciall warrand from two, and yet notwithstanding of all the petitioners said defences, The saids Lords might see by their oun decreet how they not only desert the dyet against Patrick the nottorious theif and resetter But fine the petitioner in ane hundred pounds Scots to themselves and twentie thrie hundred merks to Patrick the Pannall as before said, so that a more unjust and exhorbitant procedure could hardly be instanced, And Therfore humbly Craveing the saids Lords in Consideratione of the premisses not only to discharge the forsaid sentance, and suspend the said Letters Simpliciter since the Chargers doe not insist, Bot also to Consider the petitioners forsaid hard usadge, and the heavy wrong the petitioner hade sustained in his reputatione and the petitioners persone and expensses And to Condemne the said Patrick Gordone Charger in Liberall expensses to be payed to the petitioner for repairation of the petitioners damnadges according as the saids Lords should found Just as the petition bears The Lords of his Majesties privy Councill haveing Considered this petitione given in to them by the above Alexander Leith And the saids Angus Mcdonald and Patrick Gordon Chargers being oft times called and not Compearing They In Respect of the saids two persones their absence have Discharged and here by Discharges the above Sentance pronounced against the petitioner by the above Commissioners of Justiciary And Suspends the Decreet and Letters Simpliciter upon the petitioner Suspender in all time comeing Reserving him to persew for expensses before any Judge Competent as accords.
1. NRS, PC2/27, 238v-241r.
2. Insertion.
1. NRS, PC2/27, 238v-241r.
2. Insertion.